Opalesque Industry Update - Hedge funds attracted $5.9 billion in November, bringing the total size of the industry to $1.77 trillion, according to a Eurekahedge report for the month of December. North America remains the fastest growing region with inflows of $56 billion this year so far. Part of this year's inflows was generated by 750 new funds that were launched globally despite increasing regulation and a general difficulty in raising capital.

The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index gained 4.37% YTD, while the funds of funds index is up 2.8% YTD. Among this year's top performing strategies were distressed debt (+10.51% YTD) and relative value (+9.19% YTD), while managed futures strategies performed worst with an average year-to-date loss of 1.14%.

In terms of regional performance, the Eurekahedge Latin American Index performed best with a year-to-date result of +8.45%, followed by the Emerging Markets Index (+8.16%).